Toyota Slips as Top Automaker

That was quick. Only two years after Toyota surpassed General Motors as the world's biggest automaker, it has slipped back into second place.

And, no, the leader is most definitely not G.M. again. The new king of carmakers is Volkswagen.

Like the sales of all other makes, VW's deliveries have fallen sharply of late -- down more than 10 percent from a year ago -- but its drop has been smaller than those of Toyota (off an estimated 47 percent) and G.M. (down 45 percent). That has allowed VW to increase its share of the world market to 11 percent, Reuters reports.

Volkswagen -- which trailed Toyota significantly last year, selling 6.3 million vehicles versus Toyota's 9 million -- is benefiting from government stimulus plans in its three main markets: Germany, China, and Brazil.

Toyota, meanwhile, has been hammered by the economic slump and credit crunch in its two largest markets, the U.S. and Japan. It has even seen its sales in China, its third-largest market, fall every month this year so far.

by Mark Stein